Garth Williams - Charlotte’s Web and other classic animal stories - Charlotte’s Web, The Trumpet of the Swan, Stuart Little

E. B. WHITE

3-Book Collection

This ebook collection first published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books , 2015

HarperCollins Children’s Books A division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

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Charlotte’s Web and other classic animal stories

Charlotte’s Web , first published as an ebook in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books , 2015.

Text copyright © E.B. White, 1952

Text copyright renewed © E.B. White, 1980

Illustration copyright © renewed 1980 by the Estate of Garth Williams

Colourisations copyright © 1999 by the Estate of Garth Williams

E.B. White and Garth Williams assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work.

Stuart Little , first published as an ebook in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books , 2015

Text copyright © E.B. White, 1945

Text copyright renewed © E.B. White, 1973

Illustration copyright renewed © Garth Williams, 1978

Colourisations copyright © 1999 by the Estate of Garth Williams

E.B. White and Garth Williams assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work.

The Trumpet of the Swan , first published as an ebook in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books , 2015

Text copyright © E.B. White, 1970

Illustration copyright © Fred Marcellino, 2000

E.B. White and Fred Marcellino assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.

Source ISBNs:

Charlotte’s Web : 9780008139414 Stuart Little : 9780008139421 The Trumpet of the Swan : 9780008139438 Ebook Edition © JULY 2015 ISBN: 9780008154530 Version: 2015-06-25

Cover

Title Page E. B. WHITE

Copyright

Charlotte's Web

Stuart Little

The Trumpet of the Swan

About the Author

About the Illustrators

About the Publisher

1. Before Breakfast

2. Wilbur

3. Escape

4. Loneliness

5. Charlotte

6. Summer Days

7. Bad News

8. A Talk at Home

9. Wilbur’s Boast

10. An Explosion

11. The Miracle

12. A Meeting

13. Good Progress

14. Dr Dorian

15. The Crickets

16. Off to the Fair

17. Uncle

18. The Cool of the Evening

19. The Egg Sac

20. The Hour of Triumph

21. Last Day

22. A Warm Wind

‘WHERE’S Papa going with that axe?’ said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.

‘Out to the hoghouse,’ replied Mrs Arable. ‘Some pigs were born last night.’

‘I don’t see why he needs an axe,’ continued Fern, who was only eight.

‘Well,’ said her mother, ‘one of the pigs is a runt. It’s very small and weak, and it will never amount to anything. So your father has decided to do away with it.’

‘Do away with it?’ shrieked Fern. ‘You mean kill it? Just because it’s smaller than the others?’

Mrs Arable put a pitcher of cream on the table. ‘Don’t yell, Fern!’ she said. ‘Your father is right. The pig would probably die anyway.’

Fern pushed a chair out of the way and ran outdoors. The grass was wet and the earth smelled of springtime. Fern’s sneakers were sopping by the time she caught up with her father.

‘Please don’t kill it!’ she sobbed. ‘It’s unfair.’

Mr Arable stopped walking.

‘Fern,’ he said gently, ‘you will have to learn to control yourself.’

‘Control myself?’ yelled Fern. ‘This is a matter of life and death, and you talk about controlling myself.’ Tears ran down her cheeks and she took hold of the axe and tried to pull it out of her father’s hand.

‘Fern,’ said Mr Arable, ‘I know more about raising a litter of pigs than you do. A weakling makes trouble. Now run along!’

‘But it’s unfair,’ cried Fern. ‘The pig couldn’t help being born small, could it? If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me ?’

Mr Arable smiled. ‘Certainly not,’ he said, looking down at his daughter with love. ‘But this is different. A little girl is one thing, a little runty pig is another.’

‘I see no difference,’ replied Fern, still hanging on to the axe. ‘This is the most terrible case of injustice I ever heard of.’

A queer look came over John Arable’s face. He seemed almost ready to cry himself.

‘All right,’ he said. ‘You go back to the house and I will bring the runt when I come in. I’ll let you raise it on a bottle, like a baby. Then you’ll see what trouble a pig can be.’

When Mr Arable returned to the house half an hour later, he carried a carton under his arm. Fern was upstairs changing her sneakers. The kitchen table was set for breakfast, and the room smelt of coffee, bacon, damp plaster, and wood smoke from the stove.

‘Put it on her chair!’ said Mrs Arable. Mr Arable set the carton down at Fern’s place. Then he walked to the sink and washed his hands and dried them on the roller towel.

Fern came slowly down the stairs. Her eyes were red from crying. As she approached her chair, the carton wobbled, and there was a scratching noise. Fern looked at her father. Then she lifted the lid of the carton. There, inside, looking up at her, was the newborn pig. It was a white one. The morning light shone through its ears, turning them pink.

‘He’s yours,’ said Mr Arable. ‘Saved from an untimely death. And may the good Lord forgive me for this foolishness.’